Making his debut at the recent
ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara,
Mexico, Indian shooter
Shahzar Rizvi set a world record
in the men’s 10m air pistol event
with 243.2 points in the final. That won him the gold
medal, leaving reigning Olympic champion Christian
Reitz of Germany to settle for a silver medal with 239.7
points, and India’s Jitu Rai to take home bronze with 219.
India won three medals at the World Cup,
as 17-year-old Mehuli Ghosh also won a bronze
medal in her senior World Cup debut. She set a world
junior record with 228.4 points in the women’s 10m air
rifle event.
Rizvi was motivated partly by a recent disappointment:
when India announced its 27-member shooting
team that will compete in next month’s Gold Coast
Commonwealth Games, Rizvi was left off the team.
“I had a point to prove,” he told ESPN. “I wanted to
show people I was the best.”
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]